The Rooftop Films 2009 Summer Series

Rooftop's annual celebration of the weird and wonderful country we live in. A sunset party with free drinks, a fantastic fireworks view, live music, and short film comedies, dramas and political documentaries.
 
Venue: On the roof of Chelsea Art Museum
Address: 556 West 22nd Street (Chelsea, Manhattan)
Directions: C, E, 1, 9, F, V, N, R, W to 23rd St.
Rain:Show will go on, rain or shine. 
6:00PM: Doors open
6:30PM - 8:00PM: Open bar provided by Radeberger Pilsner and Carlo Rossi sangria
7:00PM - 9:00PM: Live music by Bachelorette and others presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Great view of the fireworks
9:30PM: Films
Tickets: $40 pre-sale online for a limited time only
Presented in partnership with: Cinereach, and New York magazine

Food, drinks, live music by Bachelorette and others, a fantastic fireworks view and explosive Americana films. A mix of the wacky and the weighty in contemporary America. Rooftop’s annual 4th of July show includes a party atmosphere peppered with some prepossessing films; serious calls for social justice tempered by some seriously funny films.

This program of short films walks us through various landscapes of the American Dream, and the American Nightmare. These films satirize many of America's problems, and celebrate America's strengths. It's easy to think that America is on the decline. The economy is in tatters. We're still waging two unpopular and so far unsuccessful wars. Civil rights issues like marriage equality and universal health care struggle to gain acceptance. Junk food, disposable products and ever more asinine "reality TV" shows continue to dominate the cultural landscape.

But all hope is not lost. If there's one great advantage to Americans' infatuation with superficial beauty, quick fixes, and a stubborn, willful disregard for the crumbling signs of decay which surround us, hey, at least it keeps us blissfully happy. At least we can still laugh at ourselves. We can still imagine a world where Jell-o molds and green lawns can stifle genocide, still see through the hardship to remember the value of a hardworking hometown store, the intensity of an immigrant's belief in a better life to come.

So whatever the problems may be, whatever troubles may be bubbling beneath the surface, these films will make you laugh, make you think, make you take another drink. Because today, it's ok. You go, America: it's your birthday!

THE FILMS:
Sovereignty (Jonathan Sale | New York, NY | 19:00)
Please do not attempt to adjust your lifestyle. Pulitzer Prize nominated author Rolin Jones, Producer and Writer of Showtime’s Emmy and Golden Globe winning series “Weeds,” uncoils a hilarious and caustic allegory of the lengths to which people—particularly Americans—will go to ignore the horrors in the world around them. laurelfilmsinc.com

Immersion (Richard Levien | San Francisco, CA | 12:00) *
Moises, a ten-year-old student, struggles to communicate in his new American school with limited access to his native language. immersionfilm.com

The Greatest Gift (Daniel Bloomberg | Brooklyn, NY | 4:00)
A shadowy force attacks a typical American all-girls school cafeteria. The most popular girl risks her life to save the school misfit, and through her sacrifice opens the misfit's eyes to the joys of life within the community. danielbloomberg.com

The First Kid to Learn English from Mexico (Peter Jordan | Palo Alto, CA | 20:00)
9-year-old Pedro's reluctant journey through elementary school in pursuit of the American Dream, which he describes as a "nightmare." Misbehaving and failing at school, Pedro becomes isolated from other children and tries to befriend unsuspecting animals he encounters along his way. Told from Pedro's point of view, as only a child could, this idiosyncratic documentary enters the subjective universe of a Mexican immigrant boy at odds with the new country around him. localfilms.org

O.W. Houts & Sons, Inc. (Richie Sherman & Aaron Matthews | Pine Grove Mills, PA | 9:30)
The American Dream is exemplified by the small town family business. The American Reality is that even after decades of exceptional service, small town family businesses can't compete with national corporate chain stores. A sweet and sad story that we hope renews interest in supporting local American shops.

Looking Back (Emily Bokaer | Ithaca, NY | 5:30) *
Like many American veterans, Albert Lewis struggles with addiction and with memories of war. Lewis uses photography to help him survive in a supportive community of homeless veterans.

* Brought to Rooftop Films by the Media That Matters Film Festival www.mediathatmattersfest.org